Financial assistance inevitable for Pakistan flood victims: UN official

Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan Julien Harneis has said that it is inevitable to give financial assistance to the flood victims in Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, he said that 300 million people have been affected by the recent floods in Pakistan. “Several countries made announcements for the assistance that could not reach here so far,” he maintained.
Julien Harneis said that the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank are jointly working for the reconstruction and restoration of the flood-affected areas.
He said that Pakistan was already facing problems due to food shortage. “After the floods, population facing food shortage has multiplied. Presently, Pakistan needs to provide food to 5-6 million people immediately,” he added.
He said that it was very difficult to reach the flood affected areas due to washing away of the roads. “It is good that the prime minister has announced to conduct the audit of the flood fund through an international company,” he maintained.
Julien Harneis has said that the joint flash appeal by the Government of Pakistan and United Nations Secretary General got a positive response from the international community.
He said that United States, Canada and other countries had made good announcements in response to the appeal.
The purpose of the press conference was to ensure transparency, he said. “We will try to keep the media updated and will answer every question,” he added. He said the Emergency Relief Fund had announced $10 million, adding that they were exclusively discussing that how Pakistan could attain the maximum donations from the UN system.
He said the UN had already launched a $161 million flash appeal for Pakistan flood victims and for the rehabilitation purpose, adding the funding would provide critical food and cash assistance to nearly one million people residing in various districts of Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
He agreed, in the current situation, that $161 million may not be enough for relief activities as they had again made an appeal before the international community to grant more funds.
“All the international support and funding is going into the government system,” he said. “We have a responsibility to maintain financial accountability and transparency,” he asserted.